Such a frustrating disappointment

Dreadfully Boring

Brilliant and touching

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Fantasy horror films with spooky background score coupled with a chill that will run down your spine makes it a delight watch. Ek Thi Daayan had all the ingredients to make it a perfect horror flick but 2nd half spoils the mood and it is a like a matar paneer without salt.A magician is haunted by a witch (daayan) who has secret to reveal. He must fight the witch before she kills a child to regain her power.First time director Kanan Iyer does a fine a job in adapting the Mukul Sharma's horrific tale and bring it on the silver screen. However the screenplay looses the steam aftermath. The beginning of the film and narration of childhood story of the protagonist is beautifully shown . The later reel flips and falls flat heavily with unnecessary song and less-impacting climax. Screenplay could have been better. Dialogues are good. Editing required extra effort. Cinematography and art direction is superb. None of actors could make impact with their performance. Emraan Hashmi is as usual wooden face. Konkana Sen Sharma fails to make impact this time. Huma Qureshi and Kalki Koechin is OK. I liked the performance of kid who play's young character of Emraan Hashmi.Overall , a very good effort in trying out something different but climax makes it a spoilsport. Average 2/5

Kannan Iyer's 'Ek Thi Dayan' Caters To A Niche Audience! The film lacks universal appeal. Reason? The Treatment as well The Execution are odd, although the script is very Indian, considering that this is a Nation that believes in Witches. 'Ek Thi Dayan' Synopsis: An illusionist fails to let go off his tormenting, haunting past. 'Ek Thi Dayan' begins well, but has an Erratic Screenplay Written by Mukul Sharma & Vishal Bhardwaj. Sure, there are some moments that work. But, there are some portions that are bland. Even the final act, when the suspense is reveled, the impact isn't much. A Stronger Screenplay was required! Kannan Iyer's Direction is mostly dim & dark. Cinematography, Editing & Art Design, are passable.Performance-Wise: Emraan Hashmi is a fine actor & he delivers a controlled performance in here. Konkona Sen Sharma is fantastic. Her performance is surely a big merit to this film. Kalki appears in a half-baked cameo, while Huma Qureshi looks out of shape & lacks the fire to carry off this part. Pawan Malhotra is excellent in a supporting role. Rajatava Dutta is first-rate.On the whole, 'Ek Thi Dayan' holds limited appeal.

It was great to see that Indian cinema has propelled itself forward to a never seen before standards. The idea was so simple, a movie on witchcraft, a subject that has been ably dealt with before in Makdee, but the director really turns the heat ON here; he smashes all previous records and elevates this one to a whole new level. Yes, my friends, if you miss this you are missing out on a lot; after all this is a movie where 'daayan'-s conveniently name themselves Diana (aaaaaarghhh!), typing the 6th floor button thrice in a lift takes you to hell (eeeeeeeeek!), 'loss of innocence' is as flexible as camera angles (aaaaaaaaaahh!) and best of all, I mean this takes the cake by a mile, the aforementioned 'hell' (jahannum, narak) ruled by Shaitan (Satan) has a brand new brown colored leather sofa!! I have rarely confronted so much lameness in such a short span of time, this film really shows what 'modernization' has done to us and how 'technique' has led to the death of 'logic' in Bollywood. Idiots.

Review : We were invited to the Ek Thi Daayan movie premier. We went to the premier without high expectations, and boy I was surprised! I haven't seen the trailer either. After a great hype on the movie it was a great outcome at the end. Story was very riveting.This film is paced quite slowly but thanks to the originality of the story we're kept interested however this movie could have easily been a bit shorter to quicken things up more. Director could have done a better job, he was inconsistent, the lack of experience in the field of direction was visible.The story was very fascinating. Thanks to the writers, it's not that regular Bhootiya Isshtoorry (story), the plot stands out of them all… The biggest part of a Thriller movie is its Climax and I must say the climax was Baaang-On. I was Flabbergasted to be frank.The plot is unique, in that it relies on imagination and psychology to scare you and make you think twice about the world around you. I genuinely did not know about the ending until it was revealed. Quite a shock!Emraan Hashmi turns in a stellar performance, complimenting his co-stars while never overshadowing them. It is a tribute to his respect of the material in so much as he fine tunes his delivery to seem reserved, yet not too toned down. It is such a relief that the performances of Hashmi and the excellent Kalki live up to an excellently written quality storyline.As for the twist at the end? Well it totally disoriented me, my mind spinning back throughout the whole film.To be honest, the biggest minus of the movie is the director himself, the booooooring second half is completely his fault . He tried to experiment a lot, which was un-called for.Cast Performance : Emraan Hashmi : Undoubtedly, its one of his best works and his performance stands out of all the casts. He is the one who carried the whole movie on his shoulders.Konkona Sen Sharma : Did a fantastic job and was justifiable enough. She did live up to the expectations.Kalki Koechlin : Her part was a bit confusing, her character was a bit messy but she did a splendid job.Huma Qureshi She could have done a better Job….Huma Qureshi : She did a decent job. A mixed performance.Indian Box Office Online Verdict : If you don't mind a slow pace then this unique little gem is very rewarding. At the end of the day, ''Its not that regular Bhootiya Isshtoorry, the plot stands out of them all, it's surely is an Experimental Plot, but not written by an Idiot."